New Apple Varieties

In autumn, orchards swell with perfectly ripe, color-splashed apples. And though they come in a host of tasty varieties, for
many the belle of the ball is a relatively new arrival, the Honeycrisp. Perfectly snappy and just a little tart, the
Honeycrisp has taken America by storm, with roughly 693 million apples sold in the last year alone—up 25 percent from the
year before. There’s a reason for all the love. As the apple’s cultivator David Bedford explains, Honeycrisps have cells
twice the size of a normal fruit—so, twice as packed with juice—and strong cell walls that shatter rather than fall apart
when bitten into. The result? As Bedford puts it: “They defined a new category of crisp…we had to coin the term ‘explosively
crisp’ to describe them.”

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In the wake of Honeycrisp’s success, a bushel basket of new apple varieties have made their way to market over the last few
years. These include juicy, floral Jazz, firm Ambrosia, delicate, almost tropical Piñata and the Honeycrisp descendent
SweeTango. You might not be able to find every new variety where you live, but you’ll certainly be able to find some. When
you do, we’ve got the perfect recipes for them (check the recipe notes for suggestions on specific varieties to use). Add a
few to our zippy Apple & Fennel Salad with Blue
Cheese or savor them in our stick-to-your-ribs Apple
Oatmeal. Whatever you choose, be sure to get them soon. There’s only so long that these apples are at their peak flavor
and it would be a shame to miss out.